New York State Average Weekly Wage and Benefit Caps

The New York State Average Weekly Wage for 2026 is $1,833.63, and it is the number that sets the weekly ceiling on workers’ compensation and Paid Family Leave benefits no matter how much you actually earned.¹ A newly computed NYSAWW of $1,922.25 has already been reported by the Department of Labor and will reset workers’ compensation caps on July 1, 2026.²

How the Figure Is Set

The Department of Labor collects payroll data from employers across the state and calculates the average weekly wage paid during the prior calendar year. The Commissioner of Labor reports that number to the Superintendent of Financial Services by March 31.² It covers both private and public sector jobs, so it smooths out variation between industries and regions.

The NYSAWW is not a projection. It reflects what employers actually paid last year. When wages rise across the state, benefit ceilings rise with them. Workers’ compensation maximums update every July 1; Paid Family Leave updates on the calendar year.

Workers’ Compensation Maximum

New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law caps weekly lost-wage benefits at two-thirds of the current NYSAWW.³ For injuries between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, that produces a maximum of $1,222.42 per week. If your own average weekly wage works out to $2,500, you still cannot collect more than $1,222.42. The rate that applies to your claim is locked to the date of injury and does not go up when new maximums take effect the following July.⁴

Starting July 1, 2026, the cap will reset using the newly reported $1,922.25 NYSAWW.² Two-thirds of that figure puts the projected maximum at roughly $1,281.50 for injuries occurring on or after that date.

Minimum Weekly Benefit

There is a floor as well. The minimum workers’ compensation rate is one-fifth of the NYSAWW, or your actual wages, whichever is less.⁵ Under the current $1,833.63 NYSAWW, that works out to about $366.73 per week. If you earned less than that before your injury, you receive your full wages instead.

Waiting Period

Benefits do not start on day one. No compensation is allowed for the first seven days of disability.⁶ If you miss eight to fourteen days, payments start on the eighth day. If your disability lasts more than fourteen days, benefits become retroactive to day one.⁷

Paid Family Leave in 2026

New York Paid Family Leave pays 67% of your average weekly wage, capped at 67% of the NYSAWW. For 2026, that produces a maximum weekly benefit of $1,228.53, available for up to 12 weeks per year.¹

PFL is funded entirely through employee payroll deductions. The 2026 contribution rate is 0.432% of weekly wages, with a maximum annual contribution of $411.91. Once your deductions hit that annual cap, no further contributions come out for the rest of the calendar year.⁸

Statutory Disability Is Not Tied to the NYSAWW

One important boundary: New York’s Disability Benefits Law, which covers non-work-related injuries and illnesses, is not indexed to the NYSAWW at all. The maximum weekly DBL benefit is $170, set by statute at half your average weekly wage subject to that hard ceiling. If your average weekly wage is below $20, you receive your full wages.⁹

That $170 cap has not been adjusted since 1989 and does not rise with inflation. DBL benefits last a maximum of 26 weeks, and a seven-day waiting period applies before payments begin.¹⁰ So while the NYSAWW pulls workers’ comp and PFL ceilings higher each year, DBL sits fixed in place.

How Your Own Average Weekly Wage Is Calculated

The statewide NYSAWW is not the same as your personal average weekly wage. Your individual figure is what gets multiplied by two-thirds or 67% and then checked against the statewide cap. It is based on your gross earnings during the 52 weeks before the date of injury or leave event, meaning everything before deductions: base pay, overtime, and any other compensation your employer reports.¹¹

For a standard five-day-per-week employee, the Workers’ Compensation Board divides your total salary by the total number of days paid, multiplies by 260, and divides by 52.¹¹ Non-monetary compensation such as employer-provided room and board is converted to a dollar value and added in.

If You Worked Fewer Than 52 Weeks

When your employment history is short, the employer files Form C-240, which includes the salary of a worker in the same or similar job who has been employed for the full year.¹¹ The goal is to approximate what you would have earned under normal circumstances rather than penalize you for being new. This comparison-worker method is where disputes most often arise, because the choice of who counts as “similar” can swing the final benefit significantly.

2026 Benefit Caps at a Glance

Workers’ compensation, injuries through June 30, 2026: $1,222.42 per week, based on two-thirds of the $1,833.63 NYSAWW⁴
Workers’ compensation, injuries on or after July 1, 2026: projected at approximately $1,281.50, based on two-thirds of the $1,922.25 NYSAWW²
Paid Family Leave, 2026: $1,228.53 per week, based on 67% of the $1,833.63 NYSAWW, for up to 12 weeks¹
Statutory disability (DBL): $170 per week, for up to 26 weeks, not tied to the NYSAWW¹⁰

The gap between DBL and the other two programs is worth noticing before you assume any state program will come close to replacing your paycheck. A worker earning $1,500 per week who suffers a non-work injury collects $170 under DBL. The same worker hurt on the job collects $1,000 under workers’ compensation.

1
New York State Paid Family Leave. New York Paid Family Leave Updates for 2026
2
New York State Department of Labor. New York State Average Weekly Wage (NYSAWW)
3
New York State Senate. New York Workers Compensation Law WKC 15 – Schedule in Case of Disability
4
Workers’ Compensation Board. Schedule of Maximum Weekly Benefit
5
Workers’ Compensation Board. Subject Number 046-1649 New York State Workers Compensation Board
6
New York State Senate. New York Workers Compensation Law WKC 12 – Compensation Not Allowed for First Seven Days
7
Workers’ Compensation Board. Understanding Employee Benefits
8
New York State Department of Financial Services. PFL Decision on Premium Rate for Family Leave 2026
9
New York State Senate. New York Code WKC 204
10
Workers’ Compensation Board. Introduction to the Disability Benefits Law
11
Workers’ Compensation Board. Calculating Your Average Weekly Wage